Anthony Watt
,
Sarah Hayden
An afternoon fire Tuesday damaged three Rock Island homes, at least two of them heavily, and injured at least one person.
Rock Island firefighters were called about 1 p.m. for a structure fire in the 800 block of 22nd Street, Rock Island Fire Chief Jeff Yerkey said.
“When crews arrived they found heavy fire coming from 845 (22nd St.),” which began to spread to 843 22nd St., Yerkey said.
Smoke from the fire could be seen from Davenport.
“It’s like a blast furnace,” a responding firefighter could be heard saying over the radio at one point.
The fire remains under investigation.
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“Obviously this is going to be a long, drawn-out process,” Yerkey said Tuesday afternoon. “They’re going to have to find hot spots, put them out, overhaul and make sure both structures are fully out.”
Rock Island Fire Marshal Greg Marty said the American Red Cross would assist families displaced by the fires.
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Moline, East Moline and Rock Island Arsenal fire departments assisted Rock Island in battling the fire, Yerkey said. The Moline Second Alarmers and Advanced Medical Transport Ambulance also aided Rock Island firefighters at the scene.
All three houses sit close to one another at the northeast corner of the intersection of 22nd Street and 9th Avenue.
Two of the houses were built at the turn of the last century in Rock Island’s nationally recognized historic district, Broadway. They are nearly identical in size at 1,800 square feet. The house at 843 22nd St. was built in 1894 and the neighboring home a year later, according to the Rock Island County Assessor’s office.
James Dean, 73, lives in the home at 843 22nd St. with his wife, 70, their daughter, 50, and granddaughter, 24. Dean said he and his wife were the only ones home when the fire broke out on the back porch.
“I was taking my afternoon nap when I woke up,” Dean said. “The cat freaked out and was running all over the place. We went into the kitchen and flames were coming in the back door from the closed-in porch. … I think I lost my cat and the dog. That’s horrible. I was trying to get back in, but I couldn’t see.”
Dean said his wife burned the bottom of her feet and was taken to a local hospital.
Tracy Woods, 57, stood across the street and watched as her house and her neighbor’s house burned. Woods said she lived at 845 22nd St. with her son.
“I raised my boys by myself in that house,” Woods said.
She said she and her son were both home, along with several pets.
She said she heard a crack, looked out the window and saw fire on the back of 843 22nd St., saw it was spreading and called 911.
Woods and her son were able to exit the house with four of six pets. Two cats were missing, she said, adding it wasn’t clear if they were able to escape.
Once the stability of both structures could be assessed, a search for the missing animals would take place, according to the fire marshal.
Woods’ son, Graham, 24, sat on the steps of a neighbor’s porch across the street and watched smoke pour from his childhood home.
Smoke pours out of a house on fire in Rock Island.
“The (neighbor’s) back porch was engulfed in flames,” Graham said. “My mom was screaming. I tried to get outside to use a hose to put the neighbor’s house out, but I couldn’t get out (back) because the flames had already engulfed their back porch and they were touching our house. So I grabbed the leashes, put them on the dogs and gave them to my mom outside. I went back inside for the cats.”
“It’s going to be like starting all over,” Graham said. ‘My mom and dad bought this house when I was 6 months old. My whole entire life has been in this house. Our whole life is in this house.”
Randall Smith, 836 23rd St., lives directly behind the two homes and was surprised to see the Dean’s dog in his backyard. Smith said he called 911 when he noticed flames coming from the Dean’s back door at 843 22nd St. a few minutes later.
“I saw Tracy (Woods) come out and call for help,” he said. “I dialed 911 and reported the address. By the time I made the call, this fire blew up very quickly and you saw it licking out the windows, and it came very quickly up to the second story and out of the attic. Pretty suddenly, when it was lapping out, it got air and it hit the siding of the blue house, which is Tracy’s house.”
Marty, the Rock Island fire marshal, stressed the importance of having working smoke detectors in the home.
“This is a reminder of how fast fire can move and how little time you have to get out,” he said. “We had people that were home, alert and awake, and we still have an injury from this fire.”
Barb Ickes contributed to this reporting
Photos: Three house fires in the Broadway Historic District of Rock Island
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Flames show in a second-story window at 845 22nd Street in Rock Island. Three homes in the Broadway Historic District were damaged by fire Tuesday afternoon.
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Three homes in the Rock Island Broadway Historic District are damaged by fire Tuesday afternoon.
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Rock Island houses are on fire Tuesday in the Broadway Historic District.
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A man watches as three houses burn Tuesday in Rock Island.
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Chuck and Diane Oestreich watch from their porch as firefighters battle fires at three homes Tuesday afternoon in the Rock Island Broadway Historic District.
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Smoke pours out of a house on fire in Rock Island.
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Neighbors watch from the alley in back of the three homes on fire.
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Flames show along the roof line of one of the houses on fire.
Rock Island house fire
Graham Woods, in blue, watches his childhood home burn from the safety of a neighbor’s porch as his mother, Tracy Woods, seen on left, speaks with Rock Island Fire Marshal Greg Marty. Graham holds onto one of the family’s three dogs, while a cat waits safely inside its carrier. The fire originated from the home of James Dean, 843 22nd St., Rock Island, and spread next door to the Woods’ home at 845 22nd St. at 1 p.m., March 1, 2022.
Sarah Hayden
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Flames break through the roof at 843 22nd Street in Rock Island as house fires damage homes in the Broadway Historic District Tuesday.
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A Rock Island firefighter shoots water into an attic window at 845 22nd Street as fire damages three homes in the Broadway Historic District on Tuesday.
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Heavy smoke and flames billow from the roofs at 843 and 845 22nd Street in Rock Island as three homes in the Broadway Historic District are damaged by fire Tuesday.
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Three homes in the Rock Island Broadway Historic District are damaged by fire Tuesday afternoon.
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Heavy smoke fills the neighborhood while onlookers watch Rock Island firefighters battle three homes on fire in the 800 block of 22nd Street Tuesday.
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Firefighters use a pike pole as they battle a Rock Island house fire Tuesday.
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